When we look at Jesus’ ministry, particularly from the gospel of Luke, we find one of the single most important practices in Jesus’ life was prayer. Luke’s gospel tells us he “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:16).” Prayer was Jesus’ regular practice, but what did Jesus pray? We don’t exactly know what Jesus prayed, it was private and therefore it is not recorded in Scripture, however on one occasion, one of Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” And so Jesus taught them a model for prayer, perhaps it was the same model Jesus’ used. We call this prayer the Lord’s Prayer.
We have been in a series of sermons called, “Lord, Teach Us to Pray,” as we learn from Jesus a model for our own prayer life based on his teaching of the Lord’s Prayer. So far in our series we have looked at the first two lines “Our Father, who art in heaven…hallowed be thy name.” Prayer is first focused on God, not our problems or our needs or our wants. Prayer is an invitation into a relationship, a fellowship, or a friendship with God our Father. Through faith in Jesus Christ we are adopted into God’s family, he becomes our Heavenly Father and prayer becomes our way to relate to and share our life with him. You don’t need fancy language or the right words.
We are also called to honor God. “Hallowed be thy name.” One means of honoring God is by praising him for who he is and what he has done in our life. Beginning our prayer time with praise of God is important. We can tell God how great he is or sing songs of praise out loud or in your heart to him. Last week we looked at the book of Revelation which gave us a snapshot of God’s throne in heaven and how all day long everyone around the throne is praising God. It is their form of prayer. I personally have found listening to and singing along with music (particularly when I am in the car) helpful for praising and honoring God. We can also honor God by our action in prayer. We can kneel or bow down while praying as a demonstration of honoring God. We begin by focusing on God and his greatness. We can summarize Jesus’ model of prayer as 1) relationship, 2) honor.
I. Praying God’s Kingdom Come
This week we move into the next part of the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” When we pray this part of the Lord’s Prayer we are asking that God’s kingdom, God’s reign, God’s control would be complete here on earth just as it is in heaven. We are asking that God would have his way in our world, so that our world will reflect heaven.
In heaven everything is perfect because God is in complete control. Unfortunately our world does not reflect heaven very much, does it? I wouldn’t exactly call our world perfect. Just watch the news. We live in a world with lots of problems. School shootings, terrorist attacks, racism, drugs & alcohol (other recent news events), and that was just this past week. Why is our world this way? The Bible tells us in the beginning the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, rebelled against God by doing something he told them not to do, they ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and the world has been corrupted and in rebellion ever since. The reason our world doesn’t reflect heaven is because people continue to chose not to allow God to be in control of their lives, they have chosen not to do things God’s way, but to do things their own way, and surprise, surprise things fall apart.
Jesus’ prayer reminds us that even though the world is this way, it is not the way God intended for it to be. God wants the earth to reflect heaven, like the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect peace and fellowship with God. We want God’s kingdom to come on earth, as it is in heaven.
II. God’s Kingdom Has Come and Continues to Advance
We first have to realize that according to Jesus, the kingdom of God has already come, or perhaps a better way of saying it is God’s kingdom has already begun. The kingdom of God arrived in a person, God’s Son Jesus Christ, almost 2,000 years ago. We know this because of what Jesus said to the religious authorities who were accusing him of casting out demons by Satan’s power, and he said to them:
NIV Matthew 12:28 “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God (which he obviously believed he was), then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
In other words God’s kingdom had come in Jesus. Only it was not a geographical kingdom (like Israel or the US), neither was it a political kingdom (such as democratic government, I hate to tell you this but in God’s kingdom, he rules not us). God’s kingdom began in Jesus and after his death and resurrection, God’s kingdom did not end, but continued and is here even to this day. Do you know where God’s kingdom is represented on earth today?
NLT Revelation 1:6 He has made us his Kingdom and his priests who serve before God his Father. Give to him everlasting glory! He rules forever and ever! Amen!
We are God’s kingdom. All believers in Jesus Christ around the world (which we call the church) are part of God’s kingdom. Christians are supposed to be examples to the world of what the world would look like if God were in charge. Paul gives us an idea for what this kingdom looks like among the Christian community:
NRS Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is…righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
People should be able to look at us and get a glimpse of heaven. I say should, because unfortunately even in the Christian community, we do not always reflect God’s kingdom.
If our prayer is that God’s kingdom would come completely on earth as it is in heaven. We aren’t just praying some nice little saying, we are asking for God to bring a revolution, that he would have his way in our world. And that God would advance his kingdom through us. If our world were to reflect heaven what would have to change? There would be no more sin because everyone would be in a relationship with God, no more school shootings or terrorism because there would no longer be hatred and violence, no wars only peace, no pollution because people would care for the earth, no hungry people because everyone would share, no cancer because God would heal, no injustice because people would look out for others. If earth is going to truly look like heaven these and many more things will need to change.
When we look at the first Christian community after the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples on Pentecost. What do we see? We see sinners who repented and accepted Jesus, people were healed, demons cast out, hungry were fed, enemies become friends. They were the kingdom of God, and through their prayers and God working through them, God’s kingdom expanded rapidly across the world.
If we are praying and asking for God to have control, we are asking for individual lives to be changed, including ours, so that God can use us to return the world to its heaven like state in the Garden of Eden. God will use us to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ to a world separated from God by sin, God will use us to feed the hungry, pray for the sick so they are healed, work towards peace and justice, fight against evil.
If God took control of the lives of every individual on earth, our earth would be like heaven because God would use his followers to radically change the world around us. In other words all people must be willing to lay down their own agenda, their own plans, their time, their money, everything to God. It also means that we are praying that God would first have his way in us. It begins with me.
III. God’s Kingdom is Still Coming
God’s kingdom will continue to advance one person at a time, as we submit ourselves to God’s reign. But ultimately God’s kingdom will not be complete on earth until Jesus returns. When he comes back he will set everything straight.
What can we pray?
Other than praying God’s kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven what can we pray? How about Jesus’ model for prayer?
1. Prayer of Submission/Yield - Submitting to God’s Will/Plan
I can first pray that I would submit or yield to God’s will for me. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives he prayed this honest prayer.
NIV Matthew 26:42 "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
Jesus’ prayer was honest simple and to the point. Although he wished God would take away what lay ahead of him with his flogging and crucifixion, he prayed that God’s will would be done in his situation in life. Jesus’ prayer was a prayer of personal submission or yielding to God’s will. Jesus desired to do nothing more or less than his Father’s will.
"I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38).
If our prayer is for God’s kingdom to come and will be done, my prayer begins with me. Am I willing to lay myself before God? Would people see God’s kingdom if they looked at me? Am I willing to set my priorities, my plans, my finances, my time before God? Jesus was very tempted to try to save his own skin, but he knew the consequences of not following God’s plan. Have you prayed for God’s will to be done in your life? The key word for this is yield, are you willing to yield to God or are you doing things your way?
It is sometimes a scary proposition to allow God’s will to take control of our lives because we are no longer in control. So we have to trust God.
After submitting our own life. We can ask, ’does my family reflect God’s kingdom? Is there something which needs to change to be handed over to God? What about our church and community? If this were God’s kingdom what would need to change?’
Once I have submitted and yielded myself to God, another model prayer is a short prayer from the OT, the Prayer of Jabez.
2. Jabez Prayer – Pray for God to Expand His Kingdom through You
This prayer has become popular in recent years thanks to a book written by Bruce Wilkinson titled the "Prayer of Jabez." In this short simple prayer Jabez prays:
NIV 1 Chronicles 4:10 "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.
At first this seems quite self-centered asking for God to bless him and enlarge his territory, but we have to realize that in the OT God’s kingdom was tied to the land, specifically in the nation of Israel. If someone’s land increased, that was also an increase in God’s kingdom. Especially for those people who truly loved and feared the Lord. By expanding his territory, he was expanding God’s kingdom in the world.
However in Jesus there is a new kingdom God’s kingdom has come through his church. It is a kingdom focused on people, not land. If we pray that God would increase our territory, today, we are asking that God would increase our influence and the church’s influence with those around us, our friends, neighbors, coworkers, our community, not for our own glory so we can say look how great that church is, but for God’s glory . We are asking that God would bring favor in our relationships with other people. We are asking that God would expand his kingdom through us. What would our family look like if it reflected God’s kingdom? What would our community look like if it reflected God’s kingdom, and what does God want us to do about it? We are the instrument God uses to expand his kingdom.
As more and more people come to faith in Christ and become a part of our church, and other churches in our area, God’s kingdom grows, one person at a time, until every family, every community, every state, and nation, and eventually the whole world is God’s kingdom. In truth we know this will never completely happen until Jesus returns, but nevertheless our job is to pray for and work toward this goal of God’s kingdom coming right here and now.
Every week we have had a prayer focus. This weeks prayer focus is on yielding to God. Is there anything in our life which does not reflect God’s kingdom and authority over us? Are you holding out on God? Does you family reflect God’s kingdom. Does your church reflect God’s kingdom? What about your community? What changes does God need to work in order to usher in his kingdom and have his way?
Let us pray. Lord, may Your kingdom come and your will be done in my life, my family, my community, and the whole world.
